Digital White Papers

9 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER POTPOURRI Keeping Innovation Strategies On Track Across Global Cultural Lines If an innovation delivers a benefit that a culture does not value, the innovation will not be adopted. In some global firms, one region could dominate the firm's outlook, prompting other regions to push back on initiatives. Part of achieving successful outcomes is recognizing and incorporating a cross-section of global viewpoints. Meetings are key to long-distance engagements, but they are impaired when the traditional working hours of one region contrast with the work-life balance or cultural norms of another. Scheduling a meeting for 2:00 p.m. on a Friday aernoon might be appropriate in the United States but is not the norm in France; seing up a conference call that begins at 7:00 a.m. in Abu Dhabi does not take into account that business hours start at 9:00 a.m. This lack of cultural understanding can cause barriers to aendance and sharing of information. Respect the work-life balance of all participants by rotating time schedules so the load of late nights or early mornings is shared. Another potential challenge is region-to-region legislative compliance and audits, which can place major restrictions on global firms. Identify compliance challenges and how to address them early on. For example, some regions might have more stringent data-sharing rules than others or sovereignty rules regarding data. This can lead to restrictions on global sharing of information, which could impede the rollout of global projects. Questions To Ask How do you tackle some of these challenges? Valuable inroads are made by asking questions and working to understand the cultural norms and expectations of your colleagues, which helps in gaining their trust. Navigate appropriate ways to ask the following questions; their answers can help you build relationships so you can develop shared goals and ways to achieve them collaboratively. » What are the rules of engagement, expectations, priorities and norms? » What are your impressions of my culture? » How do I build trust? » What are your biggest challenges? » What do you need to succeed? » How can I help you succeed? Innovation has been defined as translating an idea or invention into a good or service for which customers will pay. It is imperative to think about what the "value proposition" of an innovation is expected to be and assess whether its intended users perceive enough value either to pay for the innovation or to change their working practices to adopt it. Cultural fit is a key aspect of the value proposition and one of the hardest to examine objectively. Be aware of cultural blind spots that can make it difficult to anticipate cultural barriers to an innovation. ILTA Finding the Value by Sally Gonzalez, Consultant

• Cover